Friday, 25 March 2011

Symbolism

Red is used as a symbol of guilt, sin and anger, often as connected with blood or sex.[31] A Biblical example is found in Isaiah: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow."[32] Also, The Scarlet Letter, an 1850 American novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, features a woman in a Puritan New England community who is punished for adultery with ostracism, her sin represented by a red letter 'A' sewn into her clothes.[33] This all comes from a general Hebrew view inherited by Christianity which associates red with the blood of murder,[34] as well as with guilt in general. Often, things will be in red to scare.[35] Another popular example of this is in the phrase "caught red-handed", meaning either caught in an act of crime or caught with the blood of murder still on one's hands.[36] At one point, red was associated with prostitutes, or now, with brothels (red-light districts).[37][38] In Roman Catholicism, red represents wrath, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. In Christianity, Satan is usually depicted as colored red and/or wearing a red costume in both iconography and popular culture.[39] Statistics have shown that red cars are more likely to be involved in accidents.[40]

The color red is associated with lust, passion, love, and beauty as well. The association with love and beauty is possibly related to the use of red roses as a love symbol.[41] Both the Greeks and the Hebrews considered red a symbol of love, as well as sacrifice.[42] Psychological research has shown that men find women who are wearing red more attractive